A 16-YEAR-OLD student from Holmes Chapel has set up a petition to fight plans to build 100 homes at Saltersford Corner.

Bill Armstrong-Mortlock, a sixth form student at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, has started a campaign against the proposed development for 100 new houses on a greenfield site in the village, as featured in the Guardian last week.

So far Bill, who is studying Geography, History, RE and Economics at A-level, has claimed almost 300 signatures.

Bill, who moved to the village from Knutsford in 2007, said the village’s infrastructure needed to be improved before any plans for new homes can be passed.

“It’s unsustainable development for the village on a bit of dangerous road,” he said.

“I’m not a driver myself, obviously, but most of the comments on the planning application online and on the petition say something about the traffic. We’ve had a number of serious accidents and there was one last Sunday, opposite the site.

“The schools are pretty much full and we don’t have the resources to cope with this number of houses.”

Bill said he had been told that some residents on the Hermitage estate – on the opposite side of the railway line – would leave the village if the development was given the go-ahead.

“I’m very political and tune into the news and lots of people at school have said there’s no point in trying,” he said.

“But I’ve got the suppport of the parish council and the Holmes Chapel Partnership and you can’t say there’s no point in trying – I’m not going to just stand back and let it happen.

“I’ve had some great support but I do believe we should be using brownfield sites.”